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Today I woke up with a craving for chocolate. I know, shocking. But instead of grabbing a cupcake from the refrigerator (there are ALWAYS cupcakes in the fridge), I decided to make some muffins. I wanted it to be healthy-ish, but I also didn’t want something too dense or packed with oats or wheat germ. A few simple substitutions later, and I was left with a one bowl, no butter, no granulated sugar recipe that was quick and delicious. The muffins were moist and soft, with a crispy muffin top, just like it’s supposed to be. I added some mini chocolate chips because there’s nothing better than a warm muffin and those melted pieces of chocolate in each bite, but you can certainly leave them out to make them even healthier.

I’m now writing this post outside on my deck on a beautiful sunny morning, on the unofficial start of the summer. I’ve got my dog laying down next to me, a warm muffin to my left, and a small cup of iced coffee to my right. What more could you want?!

In a large bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, coconut oil, yogurt, vanilla extract, egg, milk, and coffee. Once combined, add the baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder. Whisk until combined. Add the flour and whisk until combined again. With a spatula, fold in mini chocolate chips.

Fill each muffin liner almost to the top, a little more than 2/3 full. You want the muffins to rise enough so that they develop that “muffin top” shape. Top each muffin with a few (or ten if you’re like me) mini chocolate chips. Bake for 20-21 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

I’m not Irish, and I’m not a huge fan of Guinness beer, but when I woke up this morning and saw that it was st. patrick’s day, I knew that it was time to put together these boozy cupcakes. As you’ve seen in the past with my boozy bailey’s milkshakes, I am a lover of anything bailey’s. So I did not hold back with this recipe. Because the only thing better than homemade ganache, is homemade ganache with bailey’s mixed in.

All things aside, I made this recipe because I love chocolate, I love bailey’s, and I love an excuse to make a cupcake for friends and family. So to all those celebrating the holiday and having an extra drink (or two!), I hope you enjoy the day and don’t be afraid to give this recipe a try!

Prepare the batter; in a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the beer and butter. Stir in the cocoa powder and mix until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the egg, sugar, and sour cream. Add the beer mixture to the wet ingredients and mix. Slowly mix in the dry ingredients until incorporated.

Next, prepare the ganache; in a small saucepan on medium heat, bring the heavy cream to a simmer. Pour the hot cream over a medium bowl containing the chocolate. Whisk together for 2-3 minutes, or until the chocolate is completely melted and incorporated with the cream. Add the Bailey’s and mix until uniform again.

Fill each cupcake liner about 2/3 full and bake for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool slightly and using a cupcake corer or teaspoon, remove a small amount of cake from the center of each cupcake. Fill each hole with ganache to the rim, about 2 tsp worth.

While the cupcakes are in the oven, prepare the frosting; in the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the butter until smooth and creamy. Slowly add the confectioners sugar and mix until incorporated. Add the Bailey’s and mix until smooth. If consistency appears to be too thick, add more Bailey’s 1 tsp at a time. If consistency appears to be too thin, add more confectioners sugar. Frost the cupcakes however you’d like, and drizzle with any remaining chocolate ganache!

I saved the best for last in my girl scout cookie roundup – tagalongs. Tagalongs are crispy vanilla cookies topped with peanut butter and coated in chocolate. I was actually really excited about making these cupcakes. I’ve always been a fan of chocolate and peanut butter together, plus I’ve been dying to perfect my peanut butter frosting. This was just the nudge I needed to get started. Plus, it was the perfect break from work that I needed. Oooops. Don’t tell my boss.

I went with a plain jane vanilla cupcake – my go-to recipe, then topped it with some peanut butter frosting (a new favorite for sure!), and coated that with a hard chocolate shell (super easy recipe below!). I contemplated stuffing the cupcakes with peanut butter, but I thought that might be too heavy. So I left it out. But feel free to experiment with that, especially if you’re crazy about peanut butter.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix until uniform.

In another large bowl, combine the flour and baking powder. Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix. Add all the milk and mix. Finally, add the remaining dry ingredients and mix. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix, ensuring everything is incorporated.

Fill each cupcake liner about 2/3 full and bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

While the cupcakes are in the oven, prepare the frosting; in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and peanut butter until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the confectioners sugar 1 cup at a time until desired consistency is reached. Add the vanilla extract and mix. If too thin, add more confectioners sugar. If too thick, add milk 1 tsp at a time. Frost the cupcakes however you’d like and stick them in the freezer for 5-10 minutes.

In a medium-sized bowl, add the chocolate chips and coconut oil. In a double boiler or in the microwave, melt everything until incorporated. If microwave, be sure to microwave 30 seconds at a time, mixing well after each time. This prevents the chocolate from burning and seizing up. It typically takes no longer than 90 seconds for everything to fully melt. Dip the tops of each cupcake in the chocolate, or just pour the chocolate over the tops. It should harden very quickly and will turn from shiny to matte.

Next up on my girl scout cookie series is samoas! I’ll be honest, I’m not the biggest fan of coconut, so this cupcake was 100% for K. He’s a big fan of coconut, and was very excited when I came home from Whole Foods and told him there was shredded coconut in the pantry and coconut milk in the fridge. Unfortunately for him, those ingredients are rarely found in our house!

If you are not familiar with samoas (or caramel deLites, as they’re called in some areas), they are vanilla cookies topped with caramel, toasted coconut, and chocolate. In cookie form, all the flavors come together beautifully, so I knew this would taste just as nice in cupcake form. These cupcakes have a vanilla cake, coconut frosting, a toasted coconut topping, plus a drizzling of caramel and chocolate sauce. The coconut frosting was a huge hit – I literally had to fight K for the bowl of frosting when I was trying to fill my piping bag with it!

In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and stir until uniform.

In another large bowl, combine the flour and baking powder. Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix. Add all the milk and mix. Finally, add the remaining dry ingredients and mix. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix, ensuring everything is incorporated.

Fill each cupcake liner about 2/3 full and bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Cool completely and reduce oven temp to 325F (you will need the oven to toast the coconut).

While the cupcakes are in the oven, prepare the frosting; in the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the butter until smooth and creamy. Add 1 cup of confectioners sugar and mix until incorporated. Add the vanilla extract, coconut extract, and coconut milk, and mix. Add the remaining 1-2 cups of confectioners sugar until your desired consistency is reached. If too thin, add more confectioners sugar. If too thick, add coconut milk 1 tsp at a time. With a spatula, fold in the shredded coconut. Frost the cupcakes however you’d like.

With the remaining 1/2 cup shredded coconut, spread the coconut on a lined baking sheet. Bake for 5 minutes, or until the coconut is a golden brown. Dip each frosted cupcake in the toasted coconut, and drizzle with the melted chocolate and caramel.

Growing up, my favorite girl scout cookie flavor was always “animal treasures”. You know, the shortbread cookies dipped in chocolate with an assortment of animals embossed on the top. They were sweet and chocolatey and fun! It’s now been several years since they’ve been sold (RIP, lil’ guys) and I still find myself anxiously wondering each season if they’ll magically pop back into the lineup. Luckily, the new s’mores cookies are becoming my new favorite.

Despite my love for animal treasures and s’mores, it’s clear that thin mints are the clear favorite worldwide. It seems that every year, they make up the majority of the sales. So for my second cupcake creation, I had to give thin mints a shot. I crushed up the thin mints and created a delicious cookie crust, made a rich chocolate cupcake, filled it with mint chocolate ganache, and frosted it with mint chocolate frosting. If you’re a mint lover – enjoy! You’re in for a real treat.

Prepare the cookie crust; add the thin mints to a ziploc bag and seal. Using your fist or the flat side of a meat tenderizer, crush the cookies until it is a coarse mixture. Add to the melted butter and stir until incorporated. Press about 1 tbsp into the bottom of each cupcake liner. Bake for 3 minutes and remove from the oven.

Prepare the batter; combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the sugar, eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla extract. In a couple batches, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix. With the mixer at a low speed, add the boiling water. Be patient – it will take about a minute for everything to incorporate.

Next, prepare the ganache; in a small saucepan on medium heat, bring the heavy cream to a simmer. Pour the hot cream over a medium bowl containing the chocolate. Whisk together for 2-3 minutes, or until the chocolate is completely melted and incorporated with the cream. Add the peppermint extract and mix.

Fill each cupcake liner about 2/3 full and bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Cool slightly and using a cupcake corer or teaspoon, remove a small amount of cake from the center of each cupcake. Fill each hole with ganache to the rim, about 2 tsp worth.

While the cupcakes are in the oven, prepare the frosting; beat the sugar and butter until they are incorporated. Small clumps are okay. Add the heavy cream, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract and beat for 2-3 more minutes, or until desired consistency is reached. If too thin, add more confectioners sugar. If too thick, add milk 1 tsp at a time. Frost the cupcakes however you’d like!

It’s winter time, and you know what that means! Well here in the east coast, of course that means snow, and lots of it. But it also means girl scout cookies are available! It’s hard to say no to those cookies – so far I’ve grabbed them at the grocery store, the bank, and even at the drive thru at Dunkin’ Donuts (what?!) – am I the only one that thinks they’re everywhere this year?! Oh well, I’m happy about it!

So when Shirley texted me the other day saying, “could you turn our favorite girl scout cookies into cupcakes?”, I immediately responded with, “YES! You’re a genius!” How fun to combine my love of baking with my love of these cookies.

I’ll start today with the NEW, but oh so delicious s’mores cookies. These cupcakes have it all – a graham cracker crust, chocolate cupcakes, marshmallow frosting, and the s’mores cookie to top it off.

Check back all week for more cupcakes inspired by the girl scout cookies!

Prepare the graham cracker crust; add the graham crackers to a ziploc bag and seal. Using your fist or the flat side of a meat tenderizer, crush the crackers until it is a coarse mixture. Add to the melted butter and stir until incorporated. Press about 1 tbsp into the bottom of each cupcake liner. Bake for 3 minutes and remove from the oven.

Prepare the batter; combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the sugar, eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla extract. In a couple batches, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix. With the mixer at a low speed, add the boiling water. Be patient – it will take about a minute for everything to incorporate.

Fill each cupcake liner about 2/3 full and bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

While the cupcakes are in the oven, prepare the frosting; beat the butter until creamy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the marshmallow fluff and beat for 2-3 more minutes. Add the vanilla extract and mix. Working 1 cup at a time, add the confectioners sugar and mix until combined and at your desired consistency. If too thin, add more confectioners sugar. If too thick, add milk 1 tsp at a time. Frost the cupcakes however you’d like!

The best (or worst?) thing about this recipe is that it only makes enough batter for exactly 2 cupcakes. So if you’re sharing Valentine’s day with a special someone, you’ve each got a cupcake for dessert. And if you’re single and just as special, you’ve got two cupcakes to eat for dessert. Honestly, I think the single ladies and gents have the advantage here. Because 2 cupcakes is ALWAYS better than 1. Whether you’re single or taken on this made up holiday, take a break and indulge yourself with some sweets!

In a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the water, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract and combine with a hand mixer. Add the batter to the two cupcake liners and top each cupcake with a 1/2 tbsp of mini chocolate chips. Bake for 17-18 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.

While the cupcakes are in the oven, prepare the frosting. In a small bowl, combine the softened butter and cocoa powder with a hand mixer. Add the confectioners sugar 1 tbsp at a time until your desired consistency is achieved. Once the cupcakes have cooled, frost and decorate however you’d like!